Saturday, February 14, 2026

The Winter Olympics and fringe sports


The Winter Olympics are underway in Italy and with it the return of some fringe sports that most people only hear about every four years. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But I find fringe sports interesting.
The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games run from Feb. 6 through 22. They will feature such popular sports as alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey.
This year’s Winter Olympics added its first new sport in over two decades – ski mountaineering, aka “skimo.” The last one added was skeleton in 2002. (See articles by NPR and Sherwood News.)
All told, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will feature 116 medal events across 16 different sports and disciplines.
Some seem like fringe sports that should be eliminated from the games but probably won’t for historical and other reasons. Chief among them is curling. Come on, that’s not a sport. It’s a pastime for people in the northern climes.
I also don’t get the appeal of bobsleigh, which comes in two-man and four-man varieties as well as two-woman and women’s monobob.
While luge is a legitimate sport in my mind, I don’t understand the reasoning behind doubles, which stacks a second person on the sled. It has been relentlessly ridiculed in memes this year, for good reason.

Photo: Luge women’s doubles at Winter Olympics 2026. (Olympics photo)




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Saturday, February 7, 2026

Newspapers I used to work for and what’s become of them


My professional career has been in two parts. The first was after I earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and worked for daily newspapers. The second was after I earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and then worked for trade and business media.
I don’t include the first part of my career on my LinkedIn profile. It was fun, educational and helped hone my stills in reporting, writing and editing, but it really doesn’t pertain to my current focus.
But lately I’ve been thinking about those print media days. I still have boxes of “clips” of articles from those years. I’ll probably just end up throwing them away at some point.
What spurred my nostalgia was recent headlines. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just stopped printing a paper newspaper after 157 years and the Washington Post is slashing its staff amid a shrinking business.
It’s a tough time for print journalism after decades of business erosion due to the internet.
As an undergraduate student at U of I in the early 1980s, I worked at the Daily Illini student newspaper, which then published five days a week. Apparently it now only prints a weekly edition, called The DI, on Wednesday and is mostly focused on online news, which makes sense.
After college, I worked for the Small Newspaper Group, owned by the Small family out of Kankakee, Ill. I started at the Streator Times-Press in central Illinois. I worked there for two years (1984-86) before moving to the Daily Dispatch in Moline, Ill., and shortly thereafter the Rock Island Argus.
The Streator newspaper merged with its bigger sister newspaper in Ottawa, Ill., to serve the greater LaSalle County, Illinois, area, in September 2005.
In March 2018, Shaw Media bought the combined newspaper. (See articles by the AP, Streator Chamber of Commerce, and Dirks, Van Essen & Murray.)
I have fond memories of working in Streator, an industrial and farming community. One large factory there made glass bottles. There was a bar across the street for workers that I would go to. The bartenders would pour beer from bottles, which they would toss in a chute on the wall behind them. The bottles would smash as they fell into a container on the other side, presumably to be recycled to make new beer bottles.
When I moved to the Quad Cities to work for the Daily Dispatch and Rock Island Argus (1986-92), I lived in East Moline, Ill.
An industrial Midwest hub located on the Mississippi River dividing Illinois and Iowa, the Quad Cities are made up of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois. There are lots of great parks and restaurants there and it is home to agriculture giant John Deere.
The two sister newspapers eventually merged operations. And in June 2017, Lee Enterprises, publisher of the rival Quad-City Times in Davenport, bought out its cross-river competition from the Small family. (See articles by Our QC News, the Quad-City Times, KWQC and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)

Photos: My profile of Jim’s Rib Haven from the April 28, 1991, edition of the Rock Island Argus. I was saddened to hear that Jim’s Rib Haven has since closed.


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Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Note to Rock Hall: Get back to basics


With the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame preparing nominations for this year’s induction ceremony, it is important that the body pick an exciting, back-to-basics slate of candidates.
I won’t quarrel with the hall’s recent choices, but I wish they rocked a little harder.
Next year will mark the 75th anniversary of what’s considered the first major rock concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball. It was held in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 21, 1952.
So, the voters should keep that milestone event in mind when picking acts from their embarrassingly large backlog of artists.
Rockers who have been previously nominated but not inducted include Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Steppenwolf and Thin Lizzy.
Some other rockers I’d like to see nominated include INXS, No Doubt, Phil Collins, Scorpions and Smashing Pumpkins.
Other people have suggested Boston, Mötley Crüe, Melissa Etheridge, Styx and REO Speedwagon.
Come on, Rock Hall, focus more on rock music this year.

Photo: No Doubt promotional art for their residency at the Las Vegas Sphere.

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Sunday, January 25, 2026

Music residencies make Las Vegas an entertainment destination


For older, established music artists, there’s no need to tour when fans can come to you. That’s the point behind music residencies in Las Vegas, which has become more a destination for entertainment and sports than gambling.
Earlier this month, I saw Jennifer Lopez perform at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace as part of her “Up All Night” residency. JLo put on a great show, singing and dancing to her pop hits and Broadway classics.
The Colosseum has hosted residencies for Adele, Celine Dion, Elton John and more. Aside from JLo, other current and upcoming residencies include Blake Shelton, Def Leppard, Cyndi Lauper, Rod Stewart and Kelly Clarkson.
Another site of Las Vegas residencies is the iconic Sphere arena. It’s hosted U2, the Eagles, Backstreet Boys and Phish. Upcoming shows include No Doubt and Kenny Chesney.
The Dolby Live theater at Park MGM has hosted residencies for Bruno Mars, Janet Jackson, Usher, Maroon 5 and Mariah Carey. Current and upcoming residencies include Zayn Malik and Mary J. Blige.
The Venetian Theatre has featured residencies by Foreigner and The B-52s. Current and upcoming residences include Styx, Collective Soul and Chicago.
Entertainment has become more important to Las Vegas as casino gambling has spread across the U.S. In the past, casinos were only legal in Nevada and New Jersey.
Sports is another tourist draw with the opening in July 2020 of Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL football team.
Plus, the former Oakland Athletics are building a baseball stadium on the Las Vegas Strip. That ballpark for the Las Vegas A’s is due to open spring 2028.
There’s also the T-Mobile Arena, which hosts the Vegas Golden Knights NHL hockey team as well as Ultimate Fighting Championship matches, concerts and other events.

Related articles:

The top 5 greatest Las Vegas residencies of all time (TheStreet; Jan. 9, 2026)

Photo: Promotional photo for Jennifer Lopez residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.



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Saturday, January 24, 2026

‘The Wizard of Oz at Sphere’ was amazing. But what’s next?


The reimagined version of the classic MGM musical “The Wizard of Oz” at the Sphere in Las Vegas is an amazing experience. And it makes you wonder: What could the innovative surround-experience theater do with other old movies?
I watched, rather, experienced “The Wizard of Oz” at the Sphere earlier this month. The beloved 1939 film was digitally upgraded into an immersive movie that dazzles the senses. It fills your field of vision, allowing you to look up and around in the worlds of Oz and Kansas.
It also whips up the wind and blows leaves for the tornado sequence and drops foam apples when the angry apple trees are throwing fruit at Dorothy. Robotic butterflies and flying monkeys also cruise above the audience during their scenes. Plus, the seats rumble and there are other effects.
“The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” has sold 2 million tickets since it bowed on Aug. 28, 2025, raking in more than $260 million in ticket sales, the Hollywood Reporter said.
So what’s the next classic film to get the Sphere treatment? Some have suggested “Star Wars” or “Jurassic Park.”
But I think a good one would be the classic movie musical “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971). I’d pay to see that at the Sphere.
Meanwhile, Sphere Entertainment Co. on Jan. 18 announced its intent to build a second U.S. Sphere venue, using a smaller-scale design, at National Harbor in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It will have 6,000 seats vs. about 18,000 seats at the Las Vegas Sphere.
The company had earlier announced plans to build a Sphere arena in Abu Dhabi.

Photos: Promotional art for “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” (top); artist's depiction of the Sphere at National Harbor.







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Sunday, January 18, 2026

Celebrities at CES 2026: Gwen Stefani, K-pop boy band Riize and more


The CES 2026 tech trade show in Las Vegas had only a sprinkling of celebrities this year.
K-pop boy band Riize appeared at the Samsung media event as the South Korean company promoted new smart music speakers and folding smartphones.
Pop singer Gwen Stefani performed after the Lenovo keynote presentation at the Sphere. Soccer great Alex Morgan also attended the Lenovo keynote.
Other celebrities spoke on panels during conference sessions. They included tennis great Serena Williams; RZA (Bobby Diggs), rapper and leader of the Wu-Tang Clan; Hank Shocklee, member of the rap group Public Enemy; and Will.i.am, music producer and member of the group Black Eyed Peas.
Also on-site were New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and retired Phoenix Mercury basketball star Diana Taurasi.
The Variety Entertainment Summit at the show featured interviews with actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Billy Magnussen and Breckin Meyer.
Public Enemy performed a private show for Yahoo and the Black Eyed Peas also did a private show during CES.
The official CES closing party featured English DJ Duke Dumont.

Photos: Gwen Stefani performs at Lenovo event on Jan. 6. Riize at Samsung event on Jan. 4. (Patrick Seitz photos)


Related articles:

K-Pop Stars RIIZE Take Over CES to Help Samsung Unveil New Tri-Fold Phone and Micro RGB TV. (Rolling Stone; Jan. 8, 2026)

Actor and startup founder Joseph Gordon-Levitt worries that AI's biz model is "leading us down a dark path" (TechCrunch; Jan. 7, 2026)

Serena Williams Aims To "Change The Noise And Let People Know That It's Great To Invest In Us" (AfroTech; Jan. 8, 2026)










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Friday, January 16, 2026

CES 2026 news in review: Humanoids, AI chips, autonomous industrial gear and more


The following is a roundup of my stories from CES 2026 at Investors.com.

Silicon Labs sees AI moving to the intelligent edge. (Jan. 15, 2026)

Videoconferencing, gaming gear key areas for Logitech. (Jan. 14, 2026)

SoundHound stock in doghouse as sales growth slows. (Jan. 14, 2026)

Oshkosh adds autonomy to industrial, construction gear. (Jan. 13, 2026)

Humanoid robots captivate crowds at CES 2026 tech trade show. (Jan. 9, 2026)

CES 2026 show is flush with toilet tech. (Jan. 9, 2026)

Wearable AI gadgets could be next big thing. (Jan. 9, 2026)

Caterpillar bringing AI smarts, autonomy to construction sites. (Jan. 8, 2026)

Lenovo’s Qira joins crowded AI voice assistant market. (Jan. 7, 2026)

Nvidia looks to sell more advanced AI chips to China. (Jan. 7, 2026)

Nvidia analysts upbeat after AI chipmaker’s CES 2026 report. (Jan. 6, 2026)

AMD promotes new AI chip, sees industry demand reaching yottaflops. (Jan. 6, 2026)

Nvidia touts latest AI processor, Rubin, at CES 2026. (Jan. 5, 2026)

CES 2026: How AI is fueling hardware upgrades, productivity. (Jan. 5, 2026)

CES 2026: AI, robots, wearables, industrial machines in focus. (Dec. 30, 2025)

Nvidia, IBD Stock of the Day, actionable ahead of CES news. (Dec. 24, 2025)

Photo: Humanoid robots at CES 2026 (Unitree Robotics)

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